Shoe



4, 1931 A. M. KESSLER 1,816,907

SHOE

Filed Dec. 11, 1928 I Patented Aug. 4, 1931 a? ALEXANDER M. EssLEB. or BROOKLYN,

PATENT OFFICE NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO PREMIER SHOE COMPiLNY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK SHOE be in part set forth in the following specification and in part will be obvious therefrom without being specifically pointed out, the same'being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the claim hereof.

In the manufacture of. shoes as'ordinarily carried out, it is often desired to provide support for'the longitudinal arch of the foot in addition toithat which is furnished by the J ordinary shank piece, which may be accomplished either by some special form of shank piece or shank stiffener, or by the introduction of a separate arch support. It has been found desirable to use shank pieces having various forms of lateral and upward extensions, butthese haveproved very unsatisfactory both in comfort and appearance, for the following reason: In the usual process of manufacture of a shoe, it is customary to attachthe lower edges of'hoth the outer memher and the lining, together vwith a backing, if any (the same being previously secured'to each other nearythei'r upper edges), to the sole of the shoearoundthe entire outer edge of shoe known "as a turn shoe, afterthe same has'beent'urned right side out, to insert the shank piece,within the shoe, upon the lining andin full view of anyone looking at the in- 562 al to apply over these upwardly extendthereof; and thereafter, and, if it'be the type side of the shoe; As in this case the upwardly Application filed December 11, 1928. Serial No. 325,161.

ing portions an auxiliary lining or covering, the same being attached, at its upper, forward and rear edges, to the main lining. This is very unsatisfactory, however, for the reason that it is not practicable to stitch said, auxiliary linings in place, and the same are usually attached by glue or other adhesive, and in use the moisture of the foot, together with the constant friction to which the parts are subject, loosen the same and not only expose the uncomfortable and unsightly edges of the shank piece, but the auxiliary linings themselves tend to form an objectionable roll of material at each side of the shoe, and are thus worse than useless. Even before such loosening takes place, however, the patchlike auxiliary linings are not as pleasing in appearance as is desired in a shoe of high quality, or as isthe case in a continuous lining. By my invention, however, a smooth and unbroken lining may be presented to the eye, satisfactorily and permanently covering and concealing the upwardly extending'portions of the shank piece.

Another objection which is often found in the type of high-heeled shoe at present in extensive use by women, is that the same, even when provided with means for support ing the longitudinal arch of the foot, may nevertheless, on account of the high heel, throw the foot forward upon the ball thereof in such a manner as to bring an undue strain upon the same and weaken or tend to flatten down the transverse or metatarsal 'arch.-

Various means for remedying this defect have been tried, but many of the same have either proved inefficient for the purpose, or

have been so uncomfortable that many wearers would discontinue the use thereof after a short time, or have been too heavy or clumsy for use in high-class shoes. By my invention, however, a simple and efficient device for this purpose may be produced.

With the above and othe objects of the invention in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of various devices, elements and parts, as set forth in the claim hereof, certain embodiments thereof being illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and described alone;

in this specification, and also in the process or method, as set forth in theclaim hereof, one embodiment of which is fully described in this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1

v a top viewof a partly completed shoe constructed according to one embodiment of my invention, a portion of the shank piece being raised and turned back to show the lining underneath;

Fig. 2' is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

a. Fig. 3 is a top view of the shank piece Fig. 4 is a transverse drawings and for description in this SPGCli'lcation, and in carrying out one form, of my improved process, therefls provided first a shoe sole. ofthe usual or any suitable type,

designated 10 inthe drawings, and an upper comprising an outer member 11. and a lining 12. These members of the upperamay' be of the usual or any suitable type, exceptthat in the lower part vof eachside of the lining 12,.

at a point preferably near the front of the heel, but which may be varied if desired, is

a cut or slit extending-upward to about the point at which, in the ordinary shoe,the,lin-

'ing would be stitched to the sole. If the shoe to be manufactured be a. turn shoe, the said sole 10 is first placed upon the last, and then the upper, comprising,

nary practice, the next step would be tosecure, byv stitching or otherwise, the members 11 and 12 of the upper-to the sole 10' around the entire edge thereof.

According to this embodimentof my invention, however, the outer member 11 of the 1 upper is so secured, but that part of the lining 12-which, in the finished shoe, will be ad acent the shank p ece (and as much more thereofv as may The shoe is then removed from the last,

turn-ed right side out, and such other opera 'ations performed as may be desired and which form no part of the present invention,

' until the shoe is ready for theinsertion of theshank piece, the lininglbeing still, at least partially, unstitched at the lower edge.

Various forms of shank piece may be employed inconnection with the improved form sectional view taken, on the line 4-4 ofFig. 3, looking toward th as above mentioned,v an outer :member 11 anda lining 12, stitched together near. their upper edges, is, placedupon the last, the outer memberll being in-' side, that is, nearest to the'last; in the ordi-.

be desired) is left unstitched: and free at the low'eredge thereof.

of lining forming part of the present inventhereof which in itself forms a part of the present invention, although not an essential er or other suitable material, of suflicient thickness, strength and stifiness, for the purpose, and is split for a portion of its length so asto form a lower layer 15, an upper layer 16, and an unsplit heel portion 17'. The lower layer 15 is cut in such shape as to provide two lateral portions, designated Y18 and 19 respectively, which extend in an upward curve,

the shaping and bending of the same being such that the curve toward the, outside of theshoe begins comparatively near the outer edge and the extension 18 extends outwardly and upwardly but a short distance, whereas the curve toward the inside of the foot begins much further from that-edge of the shank piece and the extension'l9 on that sideis much higher, in order to provide afirm support for the longitudinal arch of the foot, (see Figs. 4 and 5). The upper layer or flap 16 is cut in approximately the same form aswould be any ordinary shank piece which was not also an arch-support. e 7

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seen that the unsplit heel portion 17 is somewhat thicker toward the inside of the shoe (see-9, Fig. 4), and that near the front, end of the lower layer 15 of the shank piece, there is also a thicker portion of the leather at apoint which will be near but not directly'under the metatarsal arch'of the foot when the shoe is worn, (see 8 Figs. 3 and 5). V

A metal shank stiffener 7 of any suitable type may also be secured to the shank piece, but as the same forms no part of the present invention, it need notbe here described in detail- A The shoe being-as above said, prepared for the insertion ofthe shank piece, the lower edges of that portionof the lining adjacent, the heel of the shoe and behind the two cuts or slits above-referred to, are gluedor'other wise secured to the inside of the sole of the shoe, and the heel portion 17 of the shank piece laid upon the same and secured in place, the shank piece thus covering the edges of this part of the lining and forming a neat aild well-appearing finish to this part of the s oe.

The portions of the lining forward of the; cut, however, which lie'adja'cent the split portionof the shank piece and are designated 21 inthe drawings, are not secured to the sole 10 of the shoe, but are raised to allow the lower layer 15 of the shank piece to be slipped under them and secured to the sole, after which they are laid down over the said lower layer 15, the lining thus covering the side extensions 18 and 19 and the flaps 21 extending well toward the central line of the shoe and overlapping each other as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and glued or otherwise firmly secured in place.

The upper layer 16 of the shank piece is then brought down and secured in place. By this means the edges of the portion of the lining behind the slit above referred to are secured entirely underneaththe heel portion of the shank piece, but the portions in front of the cut and adjacent the split portion of the shank piece, are firmly held between the upper and lower layers of the same, thereby neatly and completely covering the side extensions of the lower layer and at the same time having their own raw edges covered by the upper layer of the shank piece.

It will be understood, of course, that any suitable sock lining, inner sole, or other parts may be added as desired, but as the same form no part of the present invention they need not be here particularly described.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a portion of a modified form of shank piece, in which the same is split or formed of two pieces throughout its entire length, and the upper member of which is shown in the figure and designated 30. In this case the construction of the other parts of the shoe would in general I be the same as already above described, except 1 that no out as above referred to is required in the lining. The lining having been left partiallyunattached as above described, and the shoe having been turned if it be a turn shoe, the lining, in this modification of the'invention', is raised and a shank member analogous to the lower part of the shank piece described in the first embodiment of the invention, is secured in place. The edges of the lining are next secured in place over the same, and

' over them in turn is secured the member 30,

according to my invention will not only be of very good appearance inside, but will also be comfortable and beneficial to the foot, both on account of the smooth, continuous and permanent manner in which the longitudinal arch-supporting extensions are covered and concealed by my improved form of lining, but also on account of the special form of the shank piece itself, not only with regard tosupporting the longitudinal arch, but also in the support for the metatarsal arch. I have found that in practice a slight raising of the inside of the heel of the foot, has the effect of throwing the forward part of the foot into a slightly differently tilted position which brings the same into a much more normal condition, and also that a support or pressure applied to the foot, not directly under but a little behind the metatarsal arch, will tend to elevate this arch and also to prevent an unnatural, uncomfortable and harmful bunching together, or tendency to double under, of the toes of the foot. I have therefore provided the carefully placed thickening near the forward end of the shank piece, which furnishes the above described assistance to the metatarsal arch and forward part of the foot and provided support at a point which in many high-heeled shoes is en.- tirely unsupported, and co-operating with the same, I provide the slight thickening of the inner side of the heel, 17 of the shank piece, and in addition to the support provided for the longitudinal arch of the foot.

I do not limit myself to the particular details of construction and method set forth in the foregoing specification and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, as the same refer to and set forth only certain embodiments of the invention and it is obvious that the same may be modified within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

In a shoe, the combination with a sole and an upper comprising an outer member and a lining secured thereto; of a shank piece comprising a piece of material split throughout a portion of its length into an upper and a lower layer, said lower layer having a laterally and upwardly projecting portion; said lining having a cut extending upwardly from the lower edge thereof at a point intermediate the ends of said shank piece, a portion of said lining being secured between the layers of said shank piece and another portion being secured below said shank piece.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 3d day of December, 1928.

ALEXANDER M. KESSLER. 

